M1 Mac mini vs. Surface Pro 8: Which is better?
Here is a side by side comparison between M1 Mac mini and Surface Pro 8 specs including CPU, RAM, storage, battery, display, and more.
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M1 Mac mini Pros
Reasons that M1 Mac mini is better than Surface Pro 8.
Apple M1 (8C, 8G) inside M1 Mac mini has a 52% better multi-core CPU performance score than the Intel Core i7-1185G7 inside Surface Pro 8.
M1 Mac mini has more ports and slots count than the Surface Pro 8. It has eight versus six amount of ports and slots on the Surface Pro 8.
Ports | M1 Mac mini | Surface Pro 8 |
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HDMI | Yes | No |
headphone jack | Yes | Yes |
power port | Yes | No |
RJ-45 | Yes | No |
SSD slot | No | Yes |
Surface Connect | No | Yes |
Surface Type Cover | No | Yes |
Thunderbolt 3 | Yes x2 | No |
Thunderbolt 4 | No | Yes x2 |
USB-A | Yes x2 | No |
Total | 8 | 6 |
M1 Mac mini has better versatile I/O connectivity than the Surface Pro 8. It has six versus two commonly used ports and slots on the Surface Pro 8.
Ports | M1 Mac mini | Surface Pro 8 |
---|---|---|
headphone jack | Yes | Yes |
HDMI | Yes | No |
power port | Yes | No |
RJ-45 | Yes | No |
Thunderbolt 3 | Yes | No |
Thunderbolt 4 | No | Yes |
USB-A | Yes | No |
Surface Pro 8 Pros
Reasons that Surface Pro 8 is better than M1 Mac mini.
2021 vs. 2020
Surface Pro 8 supports a larger memory capacity than the M1 Mac mini. It supports up to 32GB versus 16GB of system memory on the M1 Mac mini.
Surface Pro 8 comes with a single removable M.2 SSD slot that you can replace and upgrade in the future.
Slots | M1 Mac mini | Surface Pro 8 |
---|---|---|
M.2 | Onboard | Yes x1 |
Surface Pro 8 weighed 1.96 pounds, 25% lighter than the 2.6 pounds M1 Mac mini.
Weight | M1 Mac mini | Surface Pro 8 |
---|---|---|
Pound | 2.6 lbs. | 1.96 lbs. |
Kilogram | 1.18 kg | 0.89 kg |
Prices
Here are the latest price updates and offers for both devices.
M1 Mac mini Price | ||
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Mac mini Apple M1 chip 8GB Memory 256GB SSD MGNR3LL/A (Renewed) By Apple $379.95 $418.95 9% OFF | ||
Apple 2023 Mac Mini Desktop Computer M2 chip with 8‑core CPU and 10‑core GPU, 8GB Unified Memory, 256GB SSD Storage, Gigabit Ethernet. Works with iPhone/iPad By Apple $499.00 $599.00 17% OFF | ||
Mac mini Desktop Apple M1 chip 8GB Memory 512GB SSD (Renewed) By Apple $434.59 $719.95 40% OFF | ||
Microsoft Surface Pro 8 Price | ||
Microsoft Surface Pro 8-13" Touchscreen - Intel® Core™ i5-8GB Memory - 128GB SSD - Device Only - Platinum (Latest Model) By Microsoft $719.99 $1,099.99 35% OFF | ||
Microsoft Surface Pro 8-13" Touchscreen - Intel® Evo Platform Core™ i7-16GB Memory - 256GB SSD - Device Only - Platinum (Latest Model) By Microsoft $954.99 $1,050.01 9% OFF | ||
Microsoft Surface Pro 8-13" Touchscreen - Intel® Evo Platform Core™ i5-8GB Memory - 256GB SSD - Device Only - Graphite (Latest Model) (Renewed) By Microsoft $694.99 |
Availability | M1 Mac mini | Surface Pro 8 |
Released | 2020 | 2021 |
Release Date | Announced on November 10th, 2020 |
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Pricing |
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Generations |
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Exterior | M1 Mac mini | Surface Pro 8 |
Dimensions | 7.7” x 7.7” x 1.4” (197 mm x 197 mm x 36 mm) | 11.3” x 8.2” x 0.37” (287 mm x 208 mm x 9.3 mm) |
Weight | 2.6 lb (1.2 kg) | 1.96 lb (889 g) |
Colors | Silver | Matte Black Platinum |
Keyboard and Trackpad | - |
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Display | M1 Mac mini | Surface Pro 8 |
Size | - | 13 Inches |
Info | - |
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Ports | M1 Mac mini | Surface Pro 8 |
Back (8)
| Left (1)
Right (3)
Bottom (1)
Under Kickstand (1)
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Internal Specs | M1 Mac mini | Surface Pro 8 |
Processor |
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Integrated Graphics |
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Memory |
| 8GB 16GB 32GB 4267 MHz LPDDR4X RAM |
Storage |
| 128GB 256GB 512GB 1TB Removable SSD. |
Connectivity | M1 Mac mini | Surface Pro 8 |
Wi-Fi |
| Wi-Fi 6: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax compatible. |
Bluetooth | Bluetooth 5.0 wireless technology | Bluetooth Wireless 5.1 technology |
Ethernet | 10/100/1000 BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45 connector) | - |
Battery | M1 Mac mini | Surface Pro 8 |
Size | - |
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Battery Life | - | Up to 16 hours of typical device usage |
Power Supply | 150W built-in power supply |
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Software | M1 Mac mini | Surface Pro 8 |
OS | Shipped with macOS Catalina | Windows 11 Home |
Built-in Apps | Photos iMovie GarageBand Pages Numbers Keynote Siri Safari Mail FaceTime Messages Maps News Stocks Home Voice Memos Notes Calendar Contacts Reminders Photo Booth Preview Music Podcasts TV Books App Store Time Machine Find My QuickTime Player |
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Camera & Audio | M1 Mac mini | Surface Pro 8 |
Camera | - |
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Audio |
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Misc | M1 Mac mini | Surface Pro 8 |
Inking | - |
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Sensors | - |
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Security | - |
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In the box |
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Warranty | Your Mac mini comes with 90 days of complimentary technical support and a one-year limited warranty. Purchase AppleCare+ for Mac to extend your coverage to three years from your AppleCare+ purchase date and add up to two incidents of accidental damage coverage, each subject to a service fee of $99 for external enclosure damage, or $299 for other repairable damage, plus applicable tax. | 1-year limited hardware warranty |
More | Video Support
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Key Features | M1 Mac mini | Surface Pro 8 |
At Glance |
Comparison Summary
Apple has released the M1 Mac mini in late-2020. It is powered by an octa-core Apple M1 (8C, 8G). The laptop has an integrated graphics option up to Apple M1 iGPU (8 Graphics Cores, 1280 MHz).
On the other hand, we have the 13-inch Surface Pro 8 was introduced by Microsoft about a year later in late-2021. It comes with up to a quad-core Intel Core i7-1185G7 with a boost clock speed up to 4.80 GHz. It has an integrated graphics option up to Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics (96 Execution Units, 400 → 1350 MHz).
Geekbench 5 Single Core
Geekbench 5 Multi Core
the M1 Mac mini weighs 2.6 lbs. about 32% heavier than the 1.96 lbs. Surface Pro 8. Moreover, measured at 7.7” x 7.7” x 1.4”, the M1 Mac mini is much bulkier than the Surface Pro 8 at 11.3” x 8.2” x 0.37”.
There are a toal number of 8 ports and slots available on M1 Mac mini. That includes a power port, an RJ-45 port, a Thunderbolt 3 port, an HDMI port, a USB-A port, and a headphone jack. With that said, it has two ports and slots more than the Surface Pro 8 that has a headphone jack, two Thunderbolt 4 ports, a Surface Connect, a Surface Type Cover, and an SSD slot.
Moving over to upgradability, Apple claims that the M1 Mac mini supports up to 16GB Unified memory. However, it has an onboard memory module that is not upgradable by the users. It also has soldered storage, and there are no M.2 slots for expansion.
For Surface Pro 8, it supports up to 32GB 4267 MHz LPDDR4X memory. Like M1 Mac mini, it has an onboard memory module that is not upgradable by the users. Luckily, it has a single removable M.2 SSD slot that users can replace or upgrade when needed.
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